Damien Montgomery has risen from nothing to become a Hand of the Mage-King of Mars, empowered to speak with his King’s voice and dispense his King’s justice across the star systems of the Protectorate. But the rare magical gifts and iron integrity that have lifted him this far are a frail shield against the ties that bind. Duty to his King brings Damien into the heart of an incipient civil war, charged to bring peace between two star systems—one of them his home! On the one hand is a woman and a world he loved. On the other are apparent innocents, with evidence of his homeworld’s treason. As the evidence and the dead begin to pile up, Damien must decide which he trusts most: his evidence, his intuition—or his heart?